About: Jeff Nilsson

Jeff Nilsson is the director of Post archives and a website editor. He is a specialist in American History, with graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin, University of New Mexico, and Eastern Michigan University. He writes our website's weekly Retrospective feature, and is directing the program of digitally converting the magazine's 190 years of issues.

Posts by Jeff Nilsson:

The Photographer and the Spy

It was one of those famous American trials that takes on far more significance than the facts in the case. ... More

Signs of Economic Recovery

Dr. Franklin believed in looking squarely and unflinchingly at problems, and never indulging in the luxury of comforting lies. He continually warned his almanac readers... More

Plane Crashes, the Libyan Desert, and Children’s Literature

There's an interesting story connecting the Second World War and The Fantastic Mister Fox — the animated movie just released by Twentieth Century Fox (no... More

Early Days in the Disney Dynasty

The hungry years of Walt Disney were captured in a 1956 biography written by his daughter.... More

Waiting for the Next Twain

America still hopes someone will fill the vacancy created by Mark Twain 99 years ago.... More

The Origins of Thanksgiving

Our Dr. Franklin, that man of rare good sense and goodwill, describes how the idea of Thanksgiving reflected a shift in American thinking.... More

“What You Don’t Know About Thanksgiving”

What could a 61-year-old article possibly tell us about this well-known holiday?... More

Seasonal Spirits

It's time to switch beers from your summer brand. Fortunately, the brewers of America—may Odin bless their tribe—produce a wealth of drinks to lighten spirits... More

Aaron Copland Tries to Put It Into Words

Great writers will take on any of the great topics—war, love, death, cowboys—but few have made a serious attempt at writing about music.... More

The World Is Forced to Re-Evaluate America’s Military Power

In 1918, American soldiers showed allies and enemies that our military was equivalent to any in the world. And that America was about to become... More

Help Our Soldiers Overseas

Nothing is as welcome to Americans in military service as the knowledge that their families are safe, secure, and supported back home.... More

My, How the Rules Have Changed

Think you’re tough? How long would you last in a college football game playing 1890's rules? The first intercollegiate football game—played November 6, 1869, in... More

Are We Ready for Another Martian Invasion?

The fake broadcast of a Martian invasion sent thousands fleeing in panic on October 30, 1938. Could it happen today, or have we Americans become... More

Ben Franklin and the Slow Movement

The Huffington Post (no relation to The Saturday Evening Post) recently started a book club and chose In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honoré for... More

Communism & Hollywood

October 23, 1946: Congress challenges Hollywood’s loyalty, and an American Communist makes a discovery.... More

Obama Wins Nobel for Peace

For the third time in its history, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded its Peace Prize to an American president in office. What are your thoughts... More